As the new CEO for Theolytics, David Apelian aims to take full advantage of the first clinical studies for the company’s lead product. The UK-based biotech has a whole potential platform for creating cancer-fighting viruses but is focusing on advancing its treatment for ovarian cancer.
Theolytics marks Apelian’s third time as a CEO. A physician with a PhD in molecular biology and an MBA, he started off in big pharma, with clinical leadership positions at Bristol Myers Squibb and Schering Plough, before moving on to biotech in 2004. Various corporate officer roles followed over the next 20 years at both public and private companies, but all were startups or in early stages.
“As a scientist, I was always drawn to the new cutting edge thing that’s going to really transform how we treat patients,” Apelian says. “Early in my career, I realized that medicine is going to have to become adaptable and dynamic to treat diseases as complex as cancer.”
Along with all phases of drug development, Apelian has experience in immune-oncology, therapeutic cancer vaccines, as well as working on treatments for infectious diseases and rare diseases. In late 2024, he was looking for a new opportunity, and Theolytics was looking for a CEO.
Investing time where it matters
Founded in 2017 with headquarters in Oxford, Theolytics specializes in adenovirus-based oncolytic immunotherapies. Its lead program, THEO-260, is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/IIa clinical trial by intravenous delivery in ovarian cancer patients. The first in-human trials for THEO-260 were already underway or about to launch before Apelian was even in talks to join the company.
He’d learned Theolytics was searching for a CEO from a contact on its board of directors, and his interest was piqued after reviewing the available preclinical information and data.
“I was like, ‘Okay, that’s a company I want to help succeed, and I want to bring my business expertise and my scientific background and my clinical development background,’” Apelian recalls. “This is something I can really feel good about investing my time and efforts in.”
“In biotech, you don’t get lots of second and third chances”
A key aspect that stood out to Apelian before he was CEO were signs that THEO-260 has dual properties for killing both cancer cells and supportive fibroblasts whilst inducing immune activation. When he officially stepped into the role in December of 2024, Apelian made sure to step up focus on the clinical studies so the team could know more about THEO-260’s indication footprint and if it could go beyond ovarian cancer.
“By the time we have the clinical data from our programs, we’ll have a lot of supportive biomarker and biology data to explain how it’s working and also have a better understanding of where else we could be using the product,” he explains. “Could it work in triple negative breast cancer, for example? Could it work in pancreatic cancer? Could it work in non-small cell lung cancer? We’re going to get those answers in parallel with the clinical data from the study.”
This strategy also enables Theolytics to discover more about the underlying technology platform in the first program, allowing more efficient development in future programs.
“In biotech, you don’t get lots of second and third chances,” Apelian says. “You’ve got to really hit the iron while it’s hot and get as much value out of that lead product as you can.”
Trans-Atlantic relationship building
Because he’s based in the New York–New Jersey area, Apelian has spent the first several months of his tenure balancing his role as CEO in-person and remotely. And while his commute will likely get easier as Theolytics establishes more of a presence in the United States for a possible new study, Apelian stresses how critical it is for him to often make the trans-Atlantic trip to Oxford.
“I think it’s really important to build relationships in person,” he explains. “I knew for me to really establish the relationships in this early phase, it would be a weekly visit out here, and I’ve been out here virtually every week.”
A major part of Apelian’s effort to establish and foster in-person connections has been his report meetings with members of the Theolytics board, including those from Sound Bioventures.
“It’s one of those relationships where I’m happy to take time a couple of times a month and we discuss what’s going on,” he says. “There’s a deep appreciation for what we’re learning from this early phase trial and also understanding some of the exciting novel things that we’re discovering along the way.”Interested in more companies and CEOs like this? Read some of the stories from the Sound Bioventures portfolio.
